LONDON: Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova denied to recognize legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar enjoys the most prestigious status in cricketing world, having billions of fans all over the globe but Sharapova is the only sports star who has never heard of this icon’s name.
Tendulkar, who is a good friend of Swiss star Roger Federer, pays regular visits to the Wimbledon Championships. This year too, he made his presence felt in the Royal Box at Wimbledon to watch few matches.
On June 28, Tendulkar was seated in the Royal Box along with former England captain Andrew Strauss, former England footballer David Beckham and several other sports stars.
In the post-match press conference, Sharapova was asked about the stars who watched her match and Tendulkar’s name was mentioned.
She was asked, “Sachin Tendulkar was the other person who came in at the same time as David (Beckham). Do you know who Sachin is?” Sharapova’s replay was “I don’t”. The Russian said she had met Beckham a couple of times at events in Los Angeles.
Tendulkar’s fans reacted with outrage, started trend #WhoisMariaSharapova worldwide.
